Booking Travel Archives

How To Use Points and Miles to Book Travel for Unaccompanied Minors

June 22, 2024 0

Letting your child fly without you can be more than a little scary. Luckily, the airlines have systems in place to make it go as smoothly as possible. If you’re booking your child on a solo trip, this guide should help you plan a safe journey for them. Using points and miles can make it an affordable experience.

Brie Bash

Reviewed by JT Genter

MaxMyPoint Is the Best Way To Search for Hotel Award Availability

June 17, 2024 1

MaxMyPoint is a newer tool designed to help travelers redeem their hotel points. With coverage for Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott, you can search thousands of properties worldwide for live award availability. There are both paid and free options, plus the ability to set alerts when new rewards open up. Here's how it works.

Carissa Rawson

Reviewed by Tyler Glatt

Flight Price Tracker Websites: How They Work and How They Save You Money

June 9, 2024 8

Instead of spending hours researching the best flight deals, sign up for a service that does it for you. There are many options to choose from and most of them are free. This post gives you all the details you need to know so that you never miss a great flight deal.

Jenna Hansen

Reviewed by JT Genter

How Many Miles Do You Need for a Free Flight?

June 8, 2024 38

If you've managed to earn a good stash of airline miles, the next step is understanding how many miles you need to book your next trip. Don't let the airlines trick you into paying more than you should! Here's what you need to understand, and some tips to follow, so you can save miles on your next award redemption.

Ian Snyder

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

Beginner's Guide to Saving Money on Car Rentals Using AutoSlash

May 30, 2024 58

Renting a car can be a stressful and expensive part of traveling. In this post, we’ll show you how to use the powerful car rental search and rental price tracking capabilities of AutoSlash to simplify that process and save a lot of money on your next car rental. Here's everything you need to know about this valuable service.

Ian Snyder

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

How Far in Advance Can You Book Hotel Reservations?

May 29, 2024 58

How far out you can book a hotel? And does making reservations at the far side of the booking window provides any tangible benefit? Each hotel chain handles reservations differently, with the booking windows of major hotel chains ranging from 11 months through to a massive two years. On some points bookings, however, the window can drop to as little as 100 days. Here are the various policies.

Kennedy Miller & Tyler Glatt

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

Hotel Free Night Award Change and Cancellation Policies

May 28, 2024 42

We’ve rounded up free night award change and cancellation policies for the major hotel programs, and thrown in an example to show when you need to cancel to receive a full refund of your points. Make sure you know the policies of your favorite programs so you don't get caught at the last minute and lose your points.

Samantha Holland

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

How To Book a Cruise With Points and Miles

May 11, 2024 0

There are many ways to use points or miles to book cruises or reduce the cost of a cruise trip, from travel portals to travel credits and even paying yourself back with points after paying for the cruise. If your travel goals include cruising the seas, here are some ways to use points and miles towards your trip.

Brie Bash

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

How To Search and Book Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Awards

May 10, 2024 3

If you've never done it, booking a Turkish Airlines award with Miles & Smiles miles can be a bit of a challenge. From start to finish — logging in to completing your reservation — here's a step-by-step guide to booking an award flight through Turkish Airlines.

Tyler Glatt

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

The Best Points and Miles for Free Flights to Tokyo

May 10, 2024 1

We could list several reasons to support the claim that Japan is an incredible place to visit. But to save you the time and provide the encouragement necessary to see it and create experiences for yourself, we'll jump right to the best ways to get to the country's most accessible metropolis: Tokyo. Here are the five best points and miles currencies to get to Tokyo, Japan.

Tyler Glatt

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

How To Achieve Your Travel Goals Using Points and Miles in 2024

May 9, 2024 7

When it comes to travel, the biggest hurdle for most people is the cost. This is where points and miles can make a dream a reality. If you resolved to travel more in 2024 but are unsure how to make it happen, points and miles are the perfect vehicle to help you get there. Here's why we say that, including some step-by-step instructions on getting you to your next destination.

Patrick Stouffer

Reviewed by JT Genter

How To Use Chase Points for Flights

April 26, 2024 0

Chase Ultimate Rewards are well-known for being one of the most valuable transferable points available. While there are a number of ways to redeem Chase points, some of the best value can be found by using Ultimate Rewards to book flights. Here is everything you need to know about booking awards flights with your Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Brie Bash

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

How To Book a DVC Rental (Disney Vacation Club) at Disney World

April 24, 2024 0

Save thousands booking a Deluxe Walt Disney World resort by renting DVC. Disney Vacation Club timeshare owners rent out their points, allowing Disney fans to enjoy all the benefits of a Deluxe Disney Villa at a fraction of the cost.

Samantha Holland

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

How To Get Rental Car Elite Status for Free

April 22, 2024 54

One of the feel-good milestones of travel is achieving elite status within a loyalty program. What feels even better? Getting elite status for free, thanks to holding the right credit card, through your existing elite status, or by status matching from another program. Here are all the shortcuts to rental car elite status.

Skye Class

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

When To Book an Airbnb vs. Hotel

April 16, 2024 1

Airbnb vs hotel: When should you choose one over the other? It's a common travel dilemma. We're delving into the benefits Airbnb provides, including communal areas for groups of travelers and families, listings in less populated areas, and sometimes unique experiences. Are these better than what you can get with a hotel?

Samantha Holland

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

Hotel Award Search Tools Comparison: MaxMyPoint vs Awayz vs StayWithPoints

April 15, 2024 1

MaxMyPoint, Awayz, and StayWithPoints are all hotel search engines, but which one is the best for your needs? We break down the functionalities and the benefits of each hotel award search tool, as well as their cost, to determine which ones will be the right fit for you.

Carissa Rawson

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

AwardTool Review: The Award Search Engine We've Been Waiting For?

April 12, 2024 5

AwardTool has jumped onto the scene with its unique search system and method of looking for flights. While there's a lot to love about the site (including the ability to search for both flights and hotels), it has some work to do when it comes to beating out competitors.

Carissa Rawson

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

The Capital One Premier Collection: Everything You Need To Know

March 12, 2024 1

The Capital One Premier Collection adds valuable benefits to your hotel bookings — like free breakfast for two people each day and a $100 on-property credit — but who has access and what are the perks you get? And does booking hotels through this portal make sense? Here's everything you should know about the Premier Collection.

Skye Class

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

When and How You Can Book Award Flights for Friends and Family

February 29, 2024 54

Having points and miles are great when it comes time to cash in for your dream trip. Don't forget though that in almost every case you can use your points and miles for friends and family without having to transfer anything to them. Simply book the award in their name.

Kennedy Miller

Reviewed by JT Genter

The Best Ways To Get to South Africa on Points and Miles

February 12, 2024 32

Few places on earth evoke a sense of adventure and exploration like South Africa. Unfortunately, it's pretty expensive to get there — especially in the pointy end of the plane. But if you play your cards right, you can get there on points and miles. Here's a look at five frequent flyer programs that offer great value for flights to South Africa.

Tyler Glatt

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

Save Points and Miles Using Unpublished Award Sweet Spots

February 10, 2024 2

From flying business class across the Atlantic for just 35k miles to paying fewer miles for flying further, sometimes awards price out cheaper than they should. Here's a roundup of our favorite unpublished award sweet spots.

Ross Denkin

Reviewed by JT Genter

When and How To Upgrade Paid Airline Tickets With Points and Miles

January 26, 2024 91

One of the best ways to redeem points and miles is for international business-class award tickets. Your points go the furthest this way, and the numbers prove it. Unfortunately, awards in some of the most premium cabins come at...well, a premium. But you also can access business and first class by paying a cash fare and upgrading with miles. And sometimes, it can make a lot of sense. Here's a look at when it does.

Tyler Glatt

How To Use Points and Miles for Vacation Home Rentals

December 22, 2023 1

Using points and miles to reserve vacation rental properties is a creative way to avoid the status quo of a hotel on your next family vacation. There are plenty of ways to do it and dozens of ways to earn the points required to cover the entire cost of your stay — or a substantial portion of it. Here's how.

Tyler Glatt

How My Family of 5 Took a $9,000 Vacation to Mexico for $790

December 21, 2023 1

Family vacations are expensive, and luckily points and miles can cover more than just flights and hotel. Save big by booking transportation and excursions in bank portals. Learn how one family five spent less than $800 on a five-night family vacation to Mexico.

Samantha Holland

Avoid Delta's High Partner Award Rates by Booking With SkyTeam Partner Programs

November 9, 2023 89

Delta's frequent SkyMiles devaluations have made award tickets on SkyTeam partner airlines all but unaffordable. Thankfully, there are other, more cost-effective ways to book award flights on SkyTeam airlines. By taking advantage of partner loyalty programs, you can unlock greater value. Here are the partner programs you'll want to know about.

Tyler Glatt

Reader Question: Is My Connection Time Long Enough?

November 7, 2023 109

Do you have enough time to make your connection? In today's post, we're covering everything you should know to minimize the risk of getting stranded on a connecting itinerary. We'll also dive into separate (split-ticket) itineraries and when it makes sense to book them.

Tyler Glatt

How To Search for and Book Hyatt and IHG Awards Using Bilt Rewards

October 25, 2023 0

Awayz powers a handy tool for Bilt Rewards, allowing you to search for hotel awards at the cheapest prices using a calendar feature. While the tool is really nice, it's main drawback is that it only supports two hotel programs at present. That said, the price is perfect: free.

Sam Helmy

Flying Blue Adds Two New First Class Partner Awards Options

October 20, 2023 0

Air France–KLM Flying Blue has added the ability to book first-class awards with two Sky Team partners. You can now book Garuda and China Eastern first-class awards. Let's take a closer look.

Sam Helmy

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Category: Booking Travel